Cook on Costs 2009 [Paperback]

A guide to legal remuneration in civil, contentious and non-contentious business by Michael Cook.

IF YOU'RE A PRACTITIONER, YOU IGNORE COOK AT YOUR PERIL

An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE, Richmond Green Chambers

`What does it cost to go to law?' sounds like a simple enough question with `a lot' being the obvious obfuscatory, imprecise and dismissive answer. The subject is one that bewilders the general public and confounds all too many practitioners, hence the continuing popularity and utility of `Cook on Costs' first published in 1991 and now its 2009 edition which does not disappoint.

As Michael Cook explains in his preface, `costs law, practice and procedure, is a moving target' with a bewildering number of changes taking place within relatively short time frame - like right now, for example, as I write!

`Can there ever have been so many investigations into the future of undertaken at the same time?' he asks. As this question is a rhetorical one with an obvious answer, it's not difficult to guess why `Cook on Costs' is published annually. Its regular annual purchase should be considered a necessity by any solicitor who wishes to remain informed and up to date and `it will already be on the desk of most judges' as `The Association of Law Costs Draftsmen Journal' has put it editorially ... and they are the people who should know.

There are few better examples of the `moving target' aspect of costs law than that of conditional fee agreements (CFAs) i.e. the `no win no fee' agreement, which in principle, I support as a regular presenter for CPD courses. With the legal aid budget now frozen, CFAs are expected to offer ordinary people with ordinary incomes some avenue of hope that they might be able to afford competent representation when the need arises.

The current government apparently takes a critical view of CFAs, as evidenced by the committees, academic studies and so forth positioned to snipe at them like ducks in a shooting gallery at your local fun fair.

A recent `scoping study' whatever that is, has been undertaken by Professors Fenn, Rickman and Moorhead to look into whether CFAs are operating in the best interests of access to justice. Cook suggests `this is little more than a study about how CFAs should be studied (so) don't hold your breath for its outcome'.

With reviews like this of `no win no fee' agreements going on, rumors are rife that they will be eventually restricted, or got rid of altogether, with Jack Straw as the `guy with the gun' blasting the CFA concept out of the water. More will be revealed no doubt when the results of a review of CFAs undertaken by Jackson LJ will be made known.

In the interim, `Cook on Costs 2009' shines forth as a beacon of practical guidance to the complexities of all aspects of the costs of contentious and non-contentious legal business. For practitioners new to this highly readable and authoritative work, take a tour round its various segments which cover six headings: solicitor and client; between the parties; quantification; sanctions and penalties; particular people; and funding. It's normal to see the current `Cook on Costs' on the bench in court.

The Law Society Gazette says that Cook `has succeeded in making accessible and even interesting, a subject which most solicitors ignore at their peril.' Absolutely!

ISBN: 978-1-4057-2874-4